Bittersweet
by ImaginationRevelation
Summary: Lin reminisces about a secret relationship.
1. Phone Call

It all started with a phone call. It was eight twenty-one in the evening. It was already very dark. The street lamps were flickering with their orange glow. Cold rain was splattering the windows of the police station while the wind howled and rattled them.

The station was empty. When the phone rang, it startled her. It was very quiet, which was very rare. These were the moments she enjoyed.

Detective Lin Beifong picked up the phone. She listened to the details. _Someone broke into the Sato mansion. Sato's wife had been found dead_.

"I'm on my way," she said, hanging up the phone. She briskly put on her jacket and walked out of the door and out of the police station.

She slid into the driver's seat of her car and started the engine. She backed out of her parking space and headed towards the Sato mansion.

It took about twenty minutes to get there. There were police cars already stationed around the mansion and the house was taped off.

She parked her vehicle and stepped out, making her way to the inside of the house, which was so lavish she could not even begin to describe.

She did not have time to take in the details of the residence. She had a case to attend to. What she did notice thought was a broken window and shattered glass strewn on the floor.

Saikhan, who was a rookie cop back then, saw her and ushered her into the living room, where the body was situated and found. The woman's corpse was still lying there.

The dead woman was surrounded by cops. Lin strode to her. She noticed the woman's pale skin, wrapped in an ivory silk robe, which hugged her body nicely. The coroner said she had been dead since seven forty-two that evening.

Lin's eyes roved over the sad scene. She noticed a large singed gash on the woman's neck. Some of the blood mixed with the woman's ebony hair. This murder was the work of a firebender. She was sure of that.

This setting became even more morose when she noticed a little girl, about five, nestled in a man's arms. Both were huddled in a corner. The girl was crying, while tears cascaded slowly from the man's eyes.

Lin realized that this man must be the husband and the little girl must be the daughter. She strode over to them and extended her hand to the man's. He took it and they shook.

"Mr. Sato, I presume," Lin stated. The man nodded, wiping a tear off of his cheek. Lin continued, "My condolences. "

"Th-thank you" he choked. Another tear, another wipe. The girl was sniffling and moved closer to her father.

"Mr. Sato, I assure you that I will find the people responsible for your wife's murder. They will be brought to justice. You can be sure of that."


	2. Gold Cloth

It has been seven months since the Sato murder fell into Lin's caseload. She has been working tirelessly on it, assembling the bits and pieces together.

The break-in was given to another detective. Lin's specialty is homicide. She gathered all of the evidence that night and started trying to solve it out right away.

At the crime scene, they found some fibers, a torn cloth, a footprint and some DNA. She took them to the lab and the evidence locker.

Sato was brought in for questioning. He insisted his innocence, but one cannot take any chances. They question the one who finds the victim all the time just in case.

Hiroshi Sato had an alibi. He was picking up his daughter from a dance class. It is a forty minute walk there and back.

The class ended at seven thirty. He left the house at around seven eleven. He picked up his daughter and they went to get some ice cream. They came home at around eight ten. There he was accosted by this very gruesome scene. He called the police right away.

His alibi checked out. The dance teacher confirmed that she had seen Hiroshi come by for Asami after class finished.

Hiroshi was also a nonbender. He could not have accomplished it. He was innocent. The daughter could not have done it either. She was too young for such an evil act and also a nonbender. They had no other leads.

Lin wondered what happened to the Sato father and daughter, how they were dealing with the loss. She read about the Sato funeral in the papers. It was a solemn affair. Hundreds of people came to pay their respects.

She did not come. She did not know the woman. She cannot go to every funeral for every murder she came across. She simply does not have the time.

She sat at her desk, mulling over all the details from the scene of the crime. She was fiddling with the piece of cloth acquired from the crime scene.

Holding it between her fingers, she went to get a cup of coffee. A light was shining into her eye. She looked down at the cloth, which was reflecting the beam.

Lin forgot the coffee and examined the cloth. It was laced with gold. She pondered this new information. She only knew one gang that laced its clothes with gold. The Agni Kai's, the richest of them all.

She had narrowed down her suspect list. She dove back into the evidence. She found the DNA and started cross-referencing it with the DNA of the rumored Agni Kai gang members that they have arrested before.

The list was not long. They arrested these guys for small charges like not paying the parking tickets, assaulting police officers or vandalism.

All of the cops knew that these guys were part of the gang. They also knew that they had committed much more heinous crimes. It was like an open secret. Everyone knew, but there was just no proof.

No proof, no evidence on any of them, except now. The DNA was a match with a Kuzu Tun, the fourth one on the list. Bingo.


	3. Intended Target

Lin ordered the cops to find Tun and arrest him. She busied herself with calling Hiroshi Sato. It rang for some time and he finally picked up the phone."Hello?"

"Mr. Sato, we need you to come down to the station. We found the guy responsible for your wife's murder."

In about twenty minutes, Hiroshi appeared at the station. He rushed over to Lin's desk. He was sweaty-faced, agitated, but looked somewhat relieved.

Lin told him how she figured it out and who was responsible. Hiroshi was utterly shocked. Kuzu was an investor and a friend.

"Some friend," she snorted. Lin was always gruff and not the most sensitive person. She knew she might be reported, but she had a case that she had just solved and she was trying make sense of it right now. "Did Tun have any grievances towards you?"

"He wanted to rope me in with the Agni Kais. He wanted me to provide them with vehicles, but I refused," he rose from his seat. "Is that the reason he came after my wife?"

"It may be, but since you refused, the intended target may have been you, Mr. Sato."

He was furious and started shouting. "But to kill my wife?! Don't you think that was way too extreme?! Now I'm a widower and my daughter is motherless!"

"Gangsters are not known to be reasonable." Lin said curtly. "Have you had any more trouble at your estate?"

Hiroshi sat back down, thinking. "No, I have reinforced security."

"Good, you'll need it. They might want to ambush you because the secret about Kuzu is out."


	4. Surprises

A few weeks passed and Kuzu was sent to prison. He was tried and found guilty for the break in at the Sato mansion and for the murder of Yasuko Sato. He was sentenced for life.

During those weeks, there were no disturbances at the Sato house. The day there came a call about trouble at the Sato mansion was a surprise for Lin.

The cops raced to the house, but to their surprise, they found the intruders already detained. Sato had upgraded his security team to retired army commanders, who were still in tip top shape. They had overpowered the trespassers, who happened to be members of the Agni Kai Triad, while Sato called the police.

The next day, Lin received a surprise phone call. It was from Hiroshi. He told her that she was right. Some members of the Agni Kai broke into his house probably to kill him. He thanked her for telling him to be alert.

She was about to put down the phone when he said he hoped to see her last night. She was flattered and caught off guard. She composed herself and replied in her usual gruff manner.

"I'm a homicide detective. I don't deal with home invasions."

There was an awkward silence, but neither hung up. Hiroshi called her for a reason she knew that. She was a little intrigued. She wondered what it could be.

Some more seconds passed and he finally asked her the question that was on his mind. He asked her to accompany him to dinner.

She was dazed. She was a little confused. The man just lost his wife. How could he move on so fast? It was almost a year. Was that too early?

She did not know why she said it. She did not know what compelled her to do it, but she did know that she agreed to go to dinner with Sato.


	5. The Date

It was already seven when she met up with Hiroshi at Kwong's Cuisine, the new restaurant that had just opened.

He ushered her inside the lavish restaurant. She noticed that he walked with a little skip in his step. They met with the hostess and were seated at a booth. The seats were red velvet and very comfortable.

Their waiter brought them the menus. Lin opened it and she almost fell out of her seat.

"Hiroshi, this is crazy. Have you seen the prices? Fifty yuans for a measly salad!" she scoffed. "The lettuce better serenade me."

Hiroshi laughed. "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it."

She was about to ask how he was going to manage, but she realized that he was not an average Li. He was Hiroshi Sato, creator of the Satomobile, and worth millions of yuans. He definitely could afford the pricey salad.

"And if you want someone to serenade you, I can make that happen," he added with a grin. Lin laughed.

They ordered their drinks and their meals. She stayed away from the salad. They talked about work. She told him about some of her cases; he shared about some of the details of his business. They argued about politics; that was one heated conversation.

He voiced his concerns about Asami's safety. Lin suggested that he sign her up for self-defense classes. She will learn to protect herself. They will definitely be a good investment.

They discussed literature and berated the Ember Island Players. He had the displeasure of seeing them once and vowed to never go again. They both agreed that the players cannot act. Lin went once with Tenzin.

She could not believe that she was thinking about the man who just broke up with her two months before to be with Pema. Lin was still a little bitter about the break up. She leveled Air Island Temple when he broke up with her. She was thrown into jail for a few days. She remembered Tenzin's shocked face when he saw the damage and she smiled.

She knew that the break up was for the best. They wanted different things. His priority was preserving the Air Nomad culture; her priority was her career. He wanted children; she did not care for those monsters.

She shook her head. She did not want to think about Tenzin not tonight. She was not going to waste time thinking about how she could have tried to save a lost cause. She was enjoying her time with Hiroshi and she was not going to let Tenzin inadvertently ruin it. They were done over. He moved on and so did she.

Dinner was followed by desert. She had the most delicious green tea cake ever. They decided to take a stroll through the park. Then, Hiroshi drove Lin back to her house. The evening ended with a kiss and the promise of another date.


	6. Secrets

Lin and Hiroshi have been seeing each other for about thirteen years, but it never escalated to anything. They have had countless dates: the theater, the park, probending matches, etc, but they never thought of taking it to the next level.

They have also kept their romantic entanglement a secret. Lin liked the fact that it was secret. She liked it that no one was prying into their relationship, that it was just about the two of them. She also did not want to admit to everyone that she was in love. No one could know.

Hiroshi kept the secret because he was not sure how to tell Asami the news. He was afraid of her reaction. He also enjoyed the thrill of the secret. He loved Lin though. He loved her gruffness; he never met anyone like her. But he knew that he could never love her enough. He still felt lingering feelings for his late wife. How does one stop loving someone one has promised to spend one's whole life with and who was taken away from one so violently and early?

Lin was quite aware of Hiroshi's predicament considering his late wife. It did not bother her. In a way, she was quite relieved. It meant that she did not have to give herself fully to the relationship; she could keep her distance, which suited her perfectly.

She watched Asami grow from a little unsure girl to a beautiful woman. She was proud of Asami. She was amazed at how well Hiroshi raised her. Deep down inside, she felt Asami was like a distant daughter to her.

Lin knew Asami was not aware of the secret relationship Lin possessed with Asami's father. That was the only secret that Hiroshi kept from Asami or so Lin thought.

It never crossed her mind that Hiroshi may have been keeping a huge secret from both her and Asami. She thought she knew everything about Hiroshi, even the things that he did not know she knew.

One can imagine how surprised Lin was when she heard Avatar Korra's suspicion concerning Hiroshi and the Equalists. It made sense though. He had the means. He had the motive, but she did not want to believe it.

She did not want to go in and investigate, but this was her job and a tip was a tip. Korra, Tenzin, and Lin confronted Hiroshi at his house. He was calm, cool and collected. He gave them permission to search all of his warehouses. They did and they came up empty-handed.

They were about to terminate the investigation when Korra received another tip. They were to meet an informant under the Silk Road Bridge. He told them that Hiroshi had a secret factory under his mansion. In this factory, he manufactured weapons for the Equalists.

This hurt Lin real hard. She decided to swallow the anger and betrayal she felt rising inside her, but then she wondered if this is just a set up, a fake tip. Her heart lightened a bit and she tried to keep this hope alive. She wanted to believe that Hiroshi was innocent. It still was her duty to inspect the claim.

She along with Korra and Tenzin made their way back to the Sato mansion. They asked for Hiroshi's whereabouts. Asami told them that he was working in the workshop behind the mansion.

Lin led her men there and the workshop appeared to be empty, but she used her seismic sense, a neat trick she picked up from her mother, and found a secret tunnel under the shop. Her heart broke.

She went down the dark tunnel and came out into a warehouse filled with Equalist propaganda and flags. There were crates with weapons bearing the Equalist insignia.

Hiroshi was working for the Equalists. How could Hiroshi hate benders so much to want to eradicate their abilities? How could he hate them so much to pair up with the enemies? How could he harbor such hate for them when she was one?

She thought of Asami. Did Asami know? Did Asami help? She felt tears forming and blinked them back. She was not going to cry. Crying was a show of weakness, of guilt. She was not weak and she had nothing to be guilty about. She was not the one supporting the Equalists.

They did not have enough time to leave. In a matter of seconds, they were surrounded by a platinum wall, one she could not metalbend. They were trapped. She turned around to examine her surroundings. She was met with a huge mecha tank operated by none other than Hiroshi Sato.

He looked into her eyes and she looked into his. The trust was broken. Their romance was over. One look was all it took to make it clear.


	7. Distance

She remembered that moment of their break very clearly. The next memories were not that clear. She remembered fighting and falling.

It had been three years since Hiroshi's secret was exposed. Three years since the fall of the revolution in which Hiroshi invested his time, energy, and money. Three years since he went to jail. For three years, she kept her distance. She did not visit him once.

Asami took over her father's company after her father's arrest. She was doing a marvelous job. Lin was overcome with pride although she never did or would admit it. She saw a lot of Hiroshi in his daughter. Both were very determined and had great business sense.

Lin trained herself not to think about him and what happened between them, but she could not stop reminiscing when she was fighting during the battle with Kuvira's colossal mecha tank.

They did not stand a chance; she was painfully aware of the fact. They needed machines and they needed another genius to help create them.

Hiroshi's face floated through her mind. He was a genius and he was in jail, but they needed him so Lin decided to break him out of jail. She left the battle and raced to his cell. He was stunned to see her. She metalbended his bars away, which surprised him even more.

"Lin, what are you doing?" He was incredulous.

"Breaking you out of jail. What does it look like I'm doing?" she replies gruffly.

He chuckles and puts a hand on her hand. "Lin, you haven't change a bit."

She shrugged off his hand. "Of course I have. I've gotten older." She brief him on their predicament. He agreed to help.

This made her smile. Deep down, she knew that he was always a good person, who cared for people, all kinds of people, and Amon just misguided him. This willingness to help them fight cemented her belief.

She began contemplating whether it would be worth it to rekindle their romance. She fought with all her might during the battle. She had something to fight for, to live for.

Hiroshi's fate ripped her heart apart. She was devastated. She hid herself and wept uncontrollably. She had lost her love forever.

The funeral was somber. There were not many people in attendance. Lin was there. She hid herself in the background. She watched Asami. She felt pity for the girl. She wanted to hug her, but she kept her distance.

Lin did not even cry. She did not even shed one tear. She had cried it all out already. She had no more tears to spare.

When the funeral ended, she lingered behind. She bid a bittersweet farewell to Hiroshi. She told him something she never told anyone, something she never even told him. She told him her true feelings for him, but it was too late. They were now part of two different worlds. They were now keeping their distances forever.


End file.
